Recycling rates have risen to over 50% in Ashford- once dubbed Englands worst performing local authority for recycling- since a new collection service was rolled out in July, according to the borough council.
In 2011/12, Ashford council had a recycling and composting rate of just 14%, with 85% of its waste being sent to the Allington energy-from-waste (EfW) incinerator, rather than to landfill (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, the council claims provisional data for the first quarter of the new service which is carried out by Biffa – shows rates have now risen to higher than 50%, with Biffa recycling and composting 5,000 tonnes of material over the period.
This outweighed the near-4,600 tonnes of residual waste that was sent by Biffa for incineration at Allington over the period.
Between July and October, Biffa said it collected nearly 2,800 tonnes of dry recyclables, which is processed at the firms MRF in Edmonton, London. Furthermore, just over 1,300 tonnes of food waste was processed at Countrystyle’s Ridham IVC facility and almost 900 tonnes of green waste was composted at Piper Farms Ltd in the county.
Peter Dickson, development director at Biffa Municipal, said communication and simplicity of service was the key to its success.
He said: People knew it was coming because of the communications we have done they have been waiting for this to come and it is not a surprise. People are not resistant to change you could almost commend Ashford for bravery in waiting for this service.
Ashford councillor Jessamy Blandford, portfolio holder for culture and the environment, said the council had spent two years getting the new contract in place and that the communication programme was very thorough.
‘This three month snapshot must be seen in context as it cannot account for the seasonal nature of recycling performance. But it does show we are very much on the right track’
Ashford borough councillor Jessamy Blandford
She said the council and Biffa spent time putting out newsletters, improving phone services, using social media and putting on recycling roadshows throughout the district for county councils and community groups to communicate the change in service.
As a result, Cllr Blandford said: We had a mammoth amount of recycling that people had stored up in their garages in places in preparation for the new service coming in.
New service
For the new service, Biffa introduced alternate weekly collections of a range of dry recyclables (including paper, glass, metal, foil and plastic containers), and refuse in separate 240-litre and 180-litre wheelie bins respectively, as well as weekly 25-litre kitchen caddy food waste collections and an optional, subscription-based 240-litre wheelie bin for green waste.
And, according to Biffa, it has also introduced alternate weekly collections of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) including batteries and textiles. The WEEE is sent for processing by Sussex-based electrical recycling firm Light Bros, while textiles are sent to LMB Recycling in London.
This has replaced previous weekly collections of black refuse sacks and a limited range of dry recyclables in kerbside boxes under a contract with SITA UK.
A fleet of nine new Biffa vehicles, which are able to take all the different waste and recyclable materials, have been doing the collection rounds in Ashford, with plans to introduce more. Another vehicle separately collects the green waste.
Around 9,000 residents have already taken up the green waste service and the council said it hoped to expand the service further from spring 2014.
Cllr Blandford commented: The first three months of Ashfords new collection service has produced an astounding performance, thanks to the hard work of the council, Biffa and, most of all, our residents. This three month snapshot must be seen in context as it cannot account for the seasonal nature of recycling performance. But it does show we are very much on the right track.
Partnership
Launched on July 8 2013, Ashfords collection service is part of Biffas 86 million, ten-year contract with the Mid Kent Waste Partnership signed in October 2012 (see letsrecycle.com story). According to partnership, the councils could save more than 2.6 million over the lifetime of the contract.
The partnership comprises Ashford and Swale borough councils as well as Maidstone, where a similar collection service was rolled out by Biffa as part of the contract (see letsrecycle.com story). Swale is set to have new collection services rolled out in April 2014.
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